Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Henry S. Spaulding, Accession #38-156, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased by the library on 18 January 1938.

Biographical/Historical Information

Henry S. Spaulding, Captain, 38th New Jersey Volunteers and Lawrence Clinton, Spaulding's brother-in-law, 12th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Scope and Content

The papers contain letters, 1861-1865, of soldiers in the Army of the Potomac, chiefly of Henry S. Spaulding, concerning military service in Virginia, specifically, mustering and training, camp life, bounties, commissions, battles near Fredericksburg, Va., and Richmond, Va., Burnside's expedition to North Carolina (1862). There are comments on General McClellan and Grant, African American troops, strategy of the Army of the Potomac, the capture of deserters and Confederate soldiers.

The letters also discuss issues of low morale, friendly fire incidents, reinlistment, disciplinary problems, an engagement, 1862, near Yorktown, Va., and officers' opinions of the poems written by Spaulding's wife, Anna "Birdie" Spaulding.

Spaulding's letters, 1863-1865, to his daughters concern a scouting party and an artist taking pictures on the battlefield.

Spaulding's incomplete diary, 20 April 1865 to 14 May 1865, kept at Fort Powhatan, Va., comments on Lincoln's death, African American troops, Confederate soldiers, his wife's poems, and politics.

There are also instructions, concerning guard duty and court martials; and a pass, 1862.

The collection also contains letters, 1861-1863, from Lawrence Clinton to his sister Anna Spaulding, concerning army advances, seeking a commission, and his failing health. A letter, 1865, from Helen Hawley to Anna Spaulding conveys family news and her desire to see Jefferson Davis executed.

An earlier letter, 1859, concerns the purchase of barrel staves.